Charles Lane Is Right: Medicare Should Not Protect Doctors

Charles Lane is on the money in his column today. There is no good reason for Medicare not to make public the procedures for which it is reimbursing doctors.

While most doctors are honest, many are not. If a doctor is carrying through an expensive procedure far more frequently than his peers, then people are right to be asking questions. This is not just an issue of ripping off Medicare, it is also a question of bad medicine. No one should ever be put through an unnecessary medical procedure to line a doctor's pockets.